Their rivalry undermined the English in France, and led eventually to the Wars of the Roses.

ECONOMIST: England's war with France: Once more unto the breach | The

In 1471, the Yorkists defeated the Lancastrians at the Battle of Tewkesbury in the Wars of the Roses.

CNN: Monday,

Yet the clash was a turning point in the Wars of the Roses.

ECONOMIST: The battle of Towton

In Shakespeare's cycle of eight plays, the story of the Wars of the Roses is told as an epic drama.

ECONOMIST: The battle of Towton

In 1460, in the Wars of the Roses, Richard of York defeated King Henry VI at the battle of Northampton.

CNN: Thursday,

Richard's reign ended when Henry Tudor's army killed him during the Wars of the Roses, a decadeslong series of battles between the Houses of Lancaster and York for the throne.

WSJ: Bones of Contention: If the Skeleton Is Richard III, Where to Bury It?

Richard's two-year reign signalled the end of the dynastic struggle known as the Wars of the Roses and is seen by some historians as the last act of the medieval era.

BBC: Richard III dig: Skull image released ahead of DNA results

Throughout the Middle Ages, from the barons forcing King John to sign the Magna Carta, to the Wars of the Roses, rebellion was a game played almost exclusively by the rich and powerful.

ECONOMIST: Political rebels in England